


Mutations

by C_VSM



Series: ArkAU [4]
Category: ARK: Survival Evolved, Original Work
Genre: Body Horror, Gen, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29745471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C_VSM/pseuds/C_VSM
Series: ArkAU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566562





	Mutations

His footsteps echoed throughout the empty chamber. He was pacing up and down the room, deep in thought, only the purplish light of the outside element pools illuminating his path.  
Waging another war against the Moon tribe would undoubtedly spark another inter-tribal war, which was exactly what he wanted. He was well prepared this time, with already predetermined allies, which made his victory guaranteed. He will finally get rid of Ísey the Tedious, and make the tribes listen to him and his rule. He will unite them, and achieve the power even Nerva himself could only lust after. And if things went wrong again, well, he had an ace up his sleeve this time.  
As if on queue, a soft knock on the door echoed through the chamber, jolting him back to reality.  
"Enter," he yelled at the door, his voice muffled by his helmet. The metal creaked open, and in stepped a young woman, carefully clutching a small package to her chest. Well, she didn't exactly "step" in - she was pushed inside by the guard outside the room, who then promptly slammed the door behind her.  
She looked back at the door, almost reaching for it to try and run back out, but was interrupted by the man inside clearing his throat. Her head snapped in his direction, and he noticed that she looked absolutely terrified of him. Good.  
"Sire," she greeted with a trembling voice, quickly nodding her head in a small bow. "I brought the drug you requested."  
He gave a sharp nod of acknowledgement, beckoning her closer, not moving an inch from his position in front of the large glass wall.  
She quickly hurried over, her footsteps sounding twice as heavy in the empty metal chamber.  
"Have you been instructed on how to apply it?" he asked, removing his helmet to unmuffle his voice.  
"Yes, sire. Directly into the vein," she stuttered, both in fear and surprise, as he never let anyone of ranks as low as hers see his face. Especially not up close.  
A small spark of pride lit in her chest; she was special.  
The spark died immediately after she lifted her gaze and met his.  
His eyes were probably the most normal part of his face - the faded blue of the iris could almost be considered pretty, were it not for the rest of his face. He looked exhausted, with pale, almost translucent skin that was sagging at the edges. He was unnaturally thin, to the point where the defined cheekbones and jaw almost looked as if they were painfully stretching the skin. The texture of his skin itself was repulsive, with dark moles dotting his face, and a partially healed wound running from the top of his head to the middle of his right cheek. His lips were chapped, and his eyes were sunken deep inside the skull. He was absolutely grotesque, and it took the majority of her willpower not to vomit at the sight.  
""Directly into the vein"," he echoed her previous words, his voice now sounding much raspier and more commanding. "Which vein, girl?"  
"Uh," she stammered. She was told she needn't know any specifics, because he'd be the one leading the situation. The people outside shoved the package into her hands and pushed her into the room without an explanation. She had no idea what the man wanted her to say.  
He frowned at the lack of a response, turning around and walking towards a small table next to the window, which the youth didn't notice upon her entrance.  
"The median vein, girl. I won't let you give me internal bleeding with your shaky hands," he sighed, the tone of dissatisfaction clear in his voice.  
She felt her cheeks redden from embarrassment. As a healer, she had been thoroughly trained in human anatomy, but being put up on the spot like this threw her off entirely. And like him or not, this man was her king, the last thing she wanted was to make a fool of herself in front of him. But it was too late for that now.  
"Prepare the needle, I don't have all night," he barked at her, back turned.  
She hurried towards the table and gently unraveled the package she'd been clutching to her chest. Indeed, inside was a needle, filled to the brim with glowing purple liquid, not unlike the one outside, illuminating the room. She sucked in her breath. The needle contained molten element.  
"Your shock is of no significance," he spoke again, not lifting his eyes. She saw he was undoing the bands of his left gauntlet with great care, as if touching them too harshly would have some kind of negative consequences.  
"You will execute your task whether you want to or not. That's an order."  
She swallowed unwillingly loudly, nodded her head, and picked up the needle. It was surprisingly heavy, and the liquid seemed to be making the container vibrate ever so slightly with its pulsating energy.  
He finally managed to undo his band, and gently pulled off the gauntlet.  
What she saw made the blood drain from her face.  
Along the veins of his lower arm ran a network of ashen lines, which looked like it originated beneath the skin itself, and broke through when it ran out of space. The skin around the wounds was irritated and even rotten in certain places, as if the wounds were constantly opened further without ever being able to close up fully.  
The king paid no mind to her shock this time, and placed his arm on the table, exposing a reddened spot above the median vein, which she was supposed to stab.  
He looked at her expectantly.  
"Well?"  
Suppressing her disgust as best as she could, she approached the mutated arm and pressed the needle above the designated spot. She could see him close his eyes and tense his shoulders in anticipation of pain. It seemed as though the mutations were just as painful as they looked.  
She pushed the needle into the vein and started injecting the element. He hissed in agony, his arm starting to twitch. Not wishing to cause him any more pain, she injected the liquid as quickly as she could without overwhelming the blood flow. As she pulled the needle out, she noticed the previously black vein network now pulsating with the purple glow of element. The needle wound itself healed immediately, showcasing unnatural healing abilities. She didn't think too much of it, as all she wanted was to get out as fast as possible. She'd seen too much to handle.  
As she straightened herself back up, she felt his remaining, gloved, hand grab her by the shoulder. He was facing the ground, catching his breath. This experience was excruciatingly painful for him, and no matter how many times he let himself be injected, he was never able to adapt to the sensation.  
"You know," he breathed, slowly picking his arm up from the table, "I almost feel bad for you."  
She awkwardly chuckled, wanting to speak up and reassure him that she was fine, that the experience was much worse for him than her, but then he lifted his head.  
His face was rejuvenated, healthy. It seemed as though the muscles in his face returned in an instant, as he had no more saggy skin.  
But his eyes glowed a bright purple.  
She opened her mouth to scream, but was cut off by a sharp pain in her abdomen. Looking down, she saw his mutated arm had pierced directly through her torso.  
Oh, Lord of Darkness, have mercy.  
He pulled her closer to him, placing his lips to her ear.  
"But, I can't _ever_ let _anyone_ know."  
Then her world went dark.


End file.
